The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec ("Our Lady of Quebec City"), located at 16, rue de Buade,

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, is the primatial church of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec The Archdiocese of Québec (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest episcopal see in the New World north of Mexico and the Primate (bishop), primatial see of Can ...

. It is the oldest church in Canada and was the first church in Canada to be elevated to the rank of minor

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

in 1874. Four governors of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

and the

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Quebec are buried in the crypt, including

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creat ...

, Quebec's first bishop. The church is a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

, and located within the UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

of Historic District of Old Québec.

History

The cathedral is located on the site of a chapel, ''Notre Dame de la Recouvrance'', constructed by

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

in 1633. Construction of the first cathedral building began in 1647, and it was given the name ''Notre-Dame de la Paix''. Plan Profil et Elevation d une Nouvelle Paroisse Proposee a faire dans la ville de Quebec

Plan Profil et Elevation d une Nouvelle Paroisse Proposee a faire dans la ville de Quebec

The cathedral has twice been destroyed by fire, the first time being during the Siege of Quebec (1759), Siege of Quebec in 1759. It was rebuilt from plans by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry draughted in 1743. The

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church (building), church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many ...

, however, was designed by

Jean Baillairgé Jean Baillairgé (31 October 1726 – 6 September 1805) was a carpenter by trade and there is some reference to his being an architect. He was born in Blanzay, France and his death occurred at Quebec City, Quebec, Lower Canada. Jean arrived at Q ...

, who also oversaw construction. The interior was designed by

and his son François from 1786 to 1822. In 1843, François' son, Thomas, suggested a reconstruction of the façade to resemble the church of

Sainte-Geneviève Saint Genevieve or Sainte-Geneviève may refer to: * Saint Genevieve (419/422–512), the patron of Paris * Saint Geneviève de Loqueffret (10th century), a local saint from Loqueffret Parish close, Loqueffret, Brittany Buildings * Bibliothèque ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, resulting in the finest Neo-classic façade in

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. The cathedral was richly decorated with impressive works of art:

baldaquin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in ca ...

, canopy, episcopal throne dais,

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows, paintings, and chancel lamp (a gift of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

). In 1922 the church was again gutted by fire; the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

was initially suspected of arson. In 1927, an American career criminal, Ray Marsden confessed in prison to a series of church arsons, including Notre-Dame, that were done to cover his burglaries. The church was restored by architects Maxime Roisin and Raoul Chenevert. Raoul Chenevert added a presbytery beside the cathedral in 1931–1932. From 1961-1993 Claude Lagacé was organist and choirmaster at the cathedral. In 2014 the cathedral celebrated its 350th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, a holy door was constructed—the second outside Europe and only the eighth in the world. The holy door was opened on December 8, 2013, and remained open until December 28, 2014. It again opened from December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016, for the Year of Mercy after which it was sealed. It was reopened in 2024 for the 350th anniversary of foundation of the Quebec diocese and sealed again in December of that year, and would not be reopened during the

2025 Jubilee The 2025 Jubilee is a jubilee in the Catholic Church celebrated in the year 2025, announced by Pope John Paul II at the end of the 2000 Great Jubilee. This jubilee was preceded by the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy of 2015–2016. The papal bull ...

. The cathedral was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 1989 because "...of its long and close associations with the history of New France; its influence on subsequent ecclesiastical architecture and interior decoration in Québec."Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, 1989
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Gallery

File:Intérieur de la basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec 45.jpg, Interior

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Quebec Notre Dame de Quebec Roman Catholic churches in Quebec City Roman Catholic cathedrals in Quebec National Historic Sites in Quebec Roman Catholic churches completed in 1843 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Roman Catholic churches completed in 1922 Burned buildings and structures in Canada Rebuilt churches in Canada Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Heritage buildings of Quebec 1843 establishments in Canada Neoclassical church buildings in Canada 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links